Canada takes silver in Olympic rugby sevens after dropping final vs. New Zealand

Canada fell just short of capturing a stunning Olympic gold in women’s rugby sevens on Tuesday.

New Zealand rallied from a 12-7 halftime deficit to beat Canada 19-12 in the final in Paris.

The silver is Canada’s best result at the Olympics in rugby sevens, which debuted in 2016. The Canadians won bronze in ’16 in Rio.

Tyla King’s try and conversion early in the second half put New Zealand up 14-12. Stacey Waaka scored an insurance try later in the half.

Chloe Daniels and Alysha Corrigan scored tries to give Canada a 12-7 lead at halftime.

Risi Pouri-Lane opened the scoring for New Zealand with a try and conversion at 1:35.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Canadian team continued their thrilling Olympic run in Paris by upsetting Australia and advancing to the gold medal game.

Canada scored 21 unanswered points to beat Australia 21-12, showcasing an elite defensive approach.

Charity Williams, Asia Hogan-Rochester and Piper Logan all scored tries for Canada, and captain Oliva Apps made good on all three of her conversion attempts. Australia’s Sariah Paki and Maddison Levi each scored a try, and Tia Hinds went 1 for 2 on conversion attempts.

Canada stunned France in sevens rugby, edging the hosts with a pair of desperate, late tries to win their quarterfinal match 19-14.

In the bronze-medal match, the U.S. stunned the Australians 14-12.

The Canadians, ranked fifth, did not advance past the group stage at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics but won bronze in 2016 in Rio.

They secured second place in Group A in Paris with a 2-1 record and avoided the top-ranked Kiwis in the quarters, having already lost to them in their group encounter.

Canada’s best result in women’s rugby sevens came in 2016 when the team won bronze at the Rio Games, the first time the discipline was included in the Olympics.

With files from The Canadian Press